Labyrinth
by Tainted Sesshy Lover
Summary: Kagome, a present day Miko, is a teenager working to take care of her brother. During an argument gone too intense, she wishes he had never been brought home. Words can't be taken back, and there's a Wolf Prince who grants wishes as he hears them. There's a way to get Souta back home, but it won't be easy. An InuYasha spin on a classic favorite, Labyrinth.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hello, everyone! I have been gone for quite a few years from writing. I have a few stories sitting in my computer that are somewhat chaotic and definitely not even near ready to be posted. This came to me this afternoon as I was sitting and watching Anaconda. I have no idea really what would inspire such a thing. We writers are a different breed of our own, huh? Anyway, this came to mind, and I spit it out in a few hours. I have it already planned out in my mind, and this chapter was the hardest to come by. I'm trying to get at least one or two more chapters written out tonight so that they will for sure be posted in the days to come. Even if only one person that reads this loves it as much as I do, and everyone else hates it, I will be happy. I've been reading InuYasha FanFiction since I was 14 and I'm now almost 21, so I suppose this has been a long time coming.

I'm going to go ahead and rate this an M, even though for right now it's just for language maybe. I am honestly surprised that I made it this long chapter without dropping the F bomb, but I make no promises, so I'm gonna be safe and stick the M on it from the beginning so you know what you're getting into. If I put more of myself into it, which I plan to do, there will be a lemon in here somewhere. Again! I'm making no promises, just being safe because I know myself. You skipped over this, but don't say I didn't warn you.

Rated: M

Warnings: Slight language, and I will not be following neither InuYasha nor Labyrinth exactly. I know how the movie and the series go, I love them both, but I am spinning and combining them at my own writer's creativity. So if you correct me on the fact that certain things didn't happen certain ways, I will politely tell you that you are correct, obviously Jareth was the Goblin King and not Kouga, the Wolf Prince. It's a spin, people. InuYasha himself will not even be in this story, so if that's what you're looking for, you are in the wrong place.

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or Labyrinth. I cannot tell you how sad I am about that. Rest in Paradise, David Bowie.

Summary: Kagome, a present day Miko, is a teenager working to take care of her brother. During an argument gone too intense, she wishes he had never been brought home. Words can't be taken back, and there's a Wolf Prince who grants wishes as he hears them. An InuYasha spin on a classic favorite, Labyrinth.

Criticisms welcomed!

End A/N

There was panic in her soul.

She wasn't sure what caused it, but the feeling awakened her from a dead sleep around three A.M. When she was partially aware of her surroundings,

aware enough that she knew she was dripping in sweat, she sat up to examine her bedroom. There didn't appear to be any immediate danger, there was no

one in her room with ill intentions, not another heartbeat in the room beside her own rapidly beating one. Even as she knew this rationally, Kagome couldn't shake the feeling that something was just so wrong.

The 19 year old forced her body to move and planted her feet firmly on the ground, determined to check the rest of the house just to ease her troubled mind.

She briefly flared her miko aura out in case there really was an enemy, and waited a few seconds to see if there would be a response. Of course, there wasn't. Her home was completely silent. Still feeling that tight edge of panic that balled up in her stomach, her feet took her in the direction of her kid brother's room. 'Please, Souta, please be sound asleep and safe.' The panic refused to go away, and her steps quickened. When she threw the old door open, she wasn't prepared for the emptiness that surrounded her. Souta's room, which was always a topic for argument because of its typical 9 year old messiness, was spotless. There was not a single object lying on the floor, not even his clothing that he would toss on the floor when he got into his pajamas. She felt like someone had kicked her in the stomach and stolen her breath. Souta's bed was completely made up, with no sleeping boy in it. Kagome couldn't comprehend what was happening, didn't even know how her body and mind somehow rushed her over to the small bed to see if the sheets were warm, if he had somehow just left. They were cold, no sign that a warm body had been there for hours.

Tears were raining down her cheeks, but she could not feel them. She just stared at the teddy bear, Lancelot, that had once been hers, sitting against her brother's pillow. When her mind was able to process emotions and act rationally, she jumped up. 'Maybe he left! Maybe he's just upset about our fight! Where would you go, Souta?' Her mind rushed to think of places he would be, and immediately she knew he would be at the neighborhood park. It was his favorite place, tons of memories with their mother pushing him on the swing set, and applauding him when he went down the slide. She ran to the hallway closet to grab her coat and started for the front door. 'Oh Mama, I wish you were still here. I'm messing everything up.' Tears filled her eyes as she opened the front door, and she thought of their fight that evening.

"Souta! Get in here right now!" Kagome was fuming. The little boy's room was a complete disaster, toys covered the floor to the extent that she couldn't see the navy blue carpet and if she didn't live there, she would have thought that the decor was toys. The mess was overflowing into the hallway, and she had stepped on a remote control car on the way to the bathroom and literally rode out her fall only to slide right into a door. She was exhausted, she'd just worked a 14 hour shift at her job because Kami knew she needed the extra money to support herself and Souta, and to provide for the school projects and field trips and Sango for babysitting and she was just so tired. Souta peered his head around the door, cheeks tinged pink and a nervous, innocent smile on his face. If she hadn't just roller bladed on his car, she would have laughed.

"Hey, Sis, how was your day? I learned how to make an origami crane today with Sango. It's not as hard as it looks, really, it's mostly about having enough-"

"Souta! Your room! It is a complete disaster! How is it that you have hours between when you get home from school and when I get home from work and you have yet to shower or clean your room even a little bit? This is ridiculous, Souta!" Okay, her tone was a bit harsh, but they had this argument so often and maybe being more firm was what needed to resolve it.

Her little brother's head hung down and her heart kind of twinged, until his eyes jerked to hers and he raised his chin defiantly. "You know, Kagome, you aren't Mama! You can try to act grown up all you want to but you will never be Mama and I don't have to listen to you! Just because she died, it doesn't mean you have to act so bossy, okay!"

She wasn't sure if she was really yelling or not; the roar in her ears had drown out any other sounds, but her throat certainly strained with the force of her next words.

"Do you think that I really want to be your boss, Souta? Do you think that I want to be 19 and working my butt off for my kid brother who doesn't even appreciate the things he has? Just like you, I didn't choose this! I would never do it this way! If it was my choice, I would be in college like Sango with a stupid babysitting job, or maybe I wouldn't even have a job! You're just a kid who doesn't get anything, okay?" Her anger had her shaking as she yelled, and as she was shaking the tears on her cheeks away, she noticed Lancelot in a pile of toys, a bug net and water gun sitting on top of the teddy bear, squishing it. "And if I had known you were going to throw Lancelot on the ground like he was nothing, I would have never given him to you! Mama gave me that when she was bringing you home from the hospital and I wanted you to have a part of those memories with her!" She was full on sobbing now, unable to take the stress of a work day and a fight with her brother who couldn't understand all she was giving up to provide for him. She was drained, and her fatigue made her wallow in selfishness. She couldn't stop the whispered words that came out of her mouth, even though she didn't mean them even a little bit. "I wish she hadn't brought you home from the hospital. I wish she had dropped you off somewhere else, and then even if she had died, I wouldn't be stuck with such a brat!"

She was frozen even as she was saying it. It wasn't fair, and before she could apologize, Souta's crying eyes looked at her with betrayal, and his wobbly little voice was determined when he asked that she please leave his room. The anger had left her quicker than it came, and shame took its place as she hesitantly walked out and shut the door. She was supposed to be the adult here and she had screwed up. Her burdens were not supposed to be on him, and he himself definitely wasn't a burden to her. She would take the night to figure out exactly what to do to make this up to him, and talk to him in the morning. She whispered a quick, "I love you, Souta," at the closed door and headed for her own bedroom.

Now, not knowing if her little brother was okay or not, the fight filled her with a kind of agony. Pulling up at the neighborhood playground, she barely remembered to jerk the car into park before she was hopping out into the biting wind and running towards the tube shaped slide. Praying to Gods she wasn't even sure she believed in, she desperately wanted him to be sitting inside of that slide, bundled in coats, scarves, and gloves and just being okay. Again, her heart dropped to her feet and she swore it fell right onto the ground when the slide was empty. No Souta waiting to be taken home and be cuddled with over hot chocolate.

Even though every other part of the park was open, it didn't stop her from searching everywhere. She searched underneath benches that truthfully she would have been able to see from her car, behind trash cans and seesaws, and even digging into the sandbox to make sure he hadn't just been very skillfully hiding from her. It was an insane thought, but she was currently feeling kind of insane herself. She had been hyperventilating since she had woken up, and it had only increased since she saw the empty slide. 'Where could he possibly be?!' Her mind repeated the question over and over again and she ran back to her car to rush the three blocks back to her house and call Sango and see if he had somehow gotten to her house. The freezing wind bit into her skin and she knew if Souta was truly out here, if he had left of his own free will, he was freezing and tired. The thought was enough to labor her breath even more until she was almost sick and her foot pressed even harder on the gas pedal. Fifty three definitely wasn't neighborhood speed, but she so hoped a police officer saw her and followed her to their house. It would save her another phone call that she would have to say the words out loud: Her nine year old brother was missing.

Stepping into her house, something was off. She dismissed it as being that feeling she had when she woke up. It was because Souta was gone. She didn't have time to dig any deeper into it, she just needed to find her cell phone. 'Come on, come on. Bedroom? No. Kitchen? Not even close. Living room? Dammit, there is not time for this. Souta's room?' She dreaded the thought of going in there again and seeing the empty bed, but she couldn't remember if she had taken it with her when she had gone there originally, so she ran straight down the dark hallway. She headed straight for the bed and felt around. Feeling more than scatterbrained, she realized turning on the light would probably be more proactive. When she grazed the wall with the switch on it, she froze. There was someone there with her. It felt like their aura had a lid on it, massive power contained so she was only being grazed with it. She lightly flared hers back, wanting them to underestimate her power in case they attacked. That feeling she had, why had she been so careless to dismiss it? Why hadn't the intruder made themselves known until just then? There was a deep chuckle behind her, towards where she had just been at Souta's bed, and a teasing voice said, "Turn on the light, little miko."

Fear controlled her body for a moment, and she couldn't get the demands out of her mouth that she wanted to. Who was he? What did he want? Did he have to do with Souta being gone? Where was Souta?! Instead of having a panic attack with someone who had clearly broken into her house in the room, she made her shaking hand flip on the light switch. It took several moments for her to turn around, and when she did, she couldn't stop the way her jaw dropped.

Sitting on her brother's bed holding Lancelot was a man with pitch black hair, long and tied into a ponytail, with bangs that almost seemed to be.. there was no way his bangs were teased, right? She had to be hallucinating. He had skin so tan it looked like he probably lived in the sun, and aqua blue eyes that were filled with mirth. He was wearing a black, armor type of garment over his chest with brown fur draped over his shoulders. To top it off, he had the same brown fur as a sort of warrior skirt that came about mid-thigh, with seriously, no joke- a tail in the back, and the fur again around his mid calves to his ankles and he was barefoot.

She could not help it. The day had been so stressful, the night even more so, and she did not have time for this. She laughed so hard that she could feel her bladder screaming at her to just stop. Hysteria flooded her when the man scrunched his eyebrows and had the nerve to look highly offended and carefully set Lancelot back into place on Souta's pillow. She was crying and laughing, her brother was gone and there was a cross dressing man here to distract her before the owner of the powerful aura snuck up behind her and killed her with an axe. At least she had this before she died. Said cross dresser was currently looking at her as if she were the strange one, and that just made it worse. She threw her arms up as tears dripped off her nose onto her lips, and laughingly she said, "Just tell him to go ahead and kill me. I can't promise not to try to purify his ass, but I'm ready for it. This is just- hahaha! I can't even be murdered normally!" The man really looked confused, before he too put his palms up.

"Is someone here to kill you? I can step out."

If this were a movie, and it felt like it was, she would have laughed. As it were, her laughing had stopped and she was thoroughly confused.

"Aren't you here with someone? Someone who is big and scary? To kill me?"

This time, he tilted his head back and laughed, the sound echoing through her house. He stood up and suddenly she realized he was a lot taller than she thought he would be, and more muscular than someone who wore fur skirts had a right to be. He was intimidating.

"I guess there is a little mix up here, and that's on me. I'm Kouga, the Wolf Prince, and also a big, scary guy, I suppose. But I'm not here to kill you, I'm here because I made your wish come true. You wished your brother had never been brought here, and you said you didn't want to take care of him, so I have him in my den now, and my pack and I will take care of him. Problem solved."

The way he said it so casually and also a bit like he was expecting a thank you had her sliding down the wall in shock. He was the one that took Souta? How? Why? There was no actual way.

"You took my kid brother?"

"I did! Just for you." A toothy grin like he was genuinely doing a good thing.

"But... you're wearing leg warmers."

Now he truly did look offended. "Hey, woman! I will have you know that I am about 541 years old, my pelts were a sign of power to demons and humans everywhere in Feudal Japan! They still are with my pack!"

Demons? It made sense that there were still demons around, she was a miko for Kami's sake, but it had never registered to her that the ominous presence she had felt was a demonic aura. She had only heard of them in books from her grandfather, certainly never encountered one. This night was getting to be too much for her to comprehend, and she only had one thing on her mind. She needed to get Souta home.

The wolf demon seemed reasonable, even a little friendly, so she figured it couldn't hurt to ask, "So, can I have Souta back?"

His face folded into a frown, "You want him back? But you wished him away."

"I didn't mean it, I had a stressful day and I snapped at him, but I didn't mean it at all. I want him home. Can you give him back?"

He genuinely looked upset at that, and he sat back down on Souta's bed and crossed his arms.

"It doesn't work that way. I have already taken him and made him pack. I can grant wishes, but you can't just make wishes and then take them back so simply. If you really want him back, you're going to have to do something to prove that he should be here instead of with me and my pack."

The panic flooded her again. What did she have to do? Was Souta safe? She had to get him back. She steeled herself as she thought of the Saw movies. She would totally put her hands into acid to get a key to let her little brother out if that's what she had to do, and she told the wolf prince as much fearlessly. He needed to know there was no way she wasn't getting her little brother back.

His nose wrinkled and he backed up on the bed, looking disgusted.

"Oh my God, no! That is sick, you are disturbed, you know that? I mean really. You're looking at me like I'm the bad guy and then you go and say some shit like that-"

"You KIDNAPPED my brother!"

"I granted your wish! I made you happy! It's not my fault if you go around saying things you don't mean, I'm just doing my job!"

"Your job is a felony! How are you- ugh, never mind! I am not arguing with my brother's kidnapper. How do I get him back?"

Kouga suddenly stood up again, and she felt that powerful aura flare again. She was intimidated for the first time since he had revealed himself a few minutes before. Her own priestess powers surrounded her all on their own, reacting to the demonic energy that curled around the air and made it hard to breathe. Kouga's eyes widened for a split second, before that stupid grin of his was back.

"If you want him back, get on my back. I'll take you to the land where our den is."

She eyed him cautiously, "It's that simple?"

"Simple? Absolutely not," another bright smile. "You will have one chance to get through my labyrinth to my den. You will have only 24 hours once you accept your journey. There will be three challenges along the way with members of my own pack, and I will pop in sporadically. If you can manage to get through the challenges and find your way through the twists and turns of the labyrinth, you will get your brother back. If not, he will remain a member of my pack, where we will raise him up, and you will be brought back here, with no memory of ever having a brother. It will be as though he never existed for you and anyone who knows him. Would you still like to get him back? If you say no now, you will know he is in good hands and keep your memories of him."

Kagome really had to remember how to breathe again. It couldn't be good for her to breathe so quickly and then just stop so much in one night. Leave her brother with a crazy wolf prince and keep her memories of him or go out and get him back. There was no other choice to make. She would not fail Souta. Not ever again.

"Can I just walk to your kingdom? I would rather not ride on your back."

He looked stunned at her choice and she felt smug and confident. He didn't know what he was getting himself into when he took Souta Higurashi.

"It's not that simple. This is not a place you can walk or drive to, my den is in a place that only magical beings can reach and they have to know exactly where they are going. Your miko powers could get you there, if you knew where it was you needed to be."

"You are wasting time talking. I could already be halfway to Souta by now. Just let me on your back."

His grin this time made her uncomfortable, like she was a fly and he was a spider.

"I wouldn't say halfway. I wouldn't even say part of the way. But you're right," he leaned down so she could jump onto his back, "let's get going. You're on a time frame that started about two minutes ago."

They were out of the house after only a jump from the window and running over buildings at a speed that made the air feel like it was beating her, she swallowed. 'I'm coming, Souta.'


	2. Chapter 2

A/N Hello! So sorry about the spacing with the first chapter, I will be making sure it is fixed in this one and in future chapters. I so apologize, I am particularly picky myself about reading things that are nicely broken up and flow. I hope no one is too upset with me. Here is Chapter two, where we'll start to see familiar faces! I don't take anything too seriously just so y'all know. If the chapter starts intense, it's going to end with humor, and vice versa. I can't have too much intensity in my writing, it's just a personal thing of mine. I hope everyone is okay with that. I'm trying to do Labyrinth and InuYasha justice, but I'm also staying true to my path as a writer. I hope you enjoy this chapter even more than the last as we get into the story!/p  
End A/N

* * *

At some point, the air around the pair had fizzled. It was almost like little jolts of electricity going through her body, and suddenly, she was in a cave with the Wolf Prince. Not any cave she'd ever seen. She was at what looked like a four lane intersection and paths carved out into the stone walls almost like tunnels were on all sides of her. Even as Kouga allowed her to slide from his back, she could feel the claustrophobia eating away at her. 'Breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth.' It seemed like her companion knew that she was struggling, but was allowing her her pride and not saying anything. She never imagined a kidnapper would be so considerate.

"Well, here we are. You've got about 23 and a half hours left. I will not help you complete your challenges, but if you need some company just call my name. Good luck, Kagome Higurashi."

"The smile he beamed at her was as genuine as his words seemed to be, and he stuck his thumb up in a you'll do great gesture before he was gone."The panic was back again. 'That's it? Where the hell do I even start?'

"Kouga! I don't even know where I'm supposed to go to find these 'challenges'! KOUGA!"

"Labyrinth, Kagome..."

She wasn't sure where his voice was coming from, as it was all around her and nowhere at the same time. Was it in her head?

Taking a deep breath, she found her courage in thinking about Souta. This was all for him.

Trying to decide which path to go down first was surprisingly easy. It was almost as if her instincts pulled her to the path closest to her left. She grabbed one of the many torches lining the walls and began her walk. Time passed so strangely walking through that dark tunnel. It felt like she had been walking for weeks, but it also could've been seconds. There was no light, no way to gauge what the hour was. She finally came to another point where many tunnels were lined up side by side and it was time to make another choice. A sudden breeze that was too cold to be natural swirled around her for a quick moment, and then she heard a high pitched howl that was border line whiny.

'One of the tribe members Kouga was talking about?' The idea of help had her feet automatically heading in that direction, until another thought struck her. 'What if it's not help? How can I know friend or foe?' She stopped and tried to weigh her options. Deciding that even an enemy would be more of a relief than this suffocating blackness alone, she headed that way.

It felt like she had walked for miles whenever she looked up and noticed that she had, again, come full circle back to the area with many tunnels. She huffed in frustration, and decided that she would use some sort of reverse psychology and take the tunnel that looked the darkest and scariest. 'He wouldn't expect me to go this way.' It was only seconds later that she knew her little trick had worked. She stumbled into a sort of clearing that she could see light, clear as day, just maybe 500 yards away. 'YES! You go, girl!'

As she began walking towards that heavenly glow, she felt a presence around her. This was a much weaker aura than what she had felt earlier with the Wolf Prince, but her the miko in her still felt threatened. She swung around and shoved the torch into all of the dark spaces she could see, and as she was stepping forward, a body lunged at her. Her power flared automatically, and a pretty purple shield of pure, sizzling energy surrounded her right before a gorgeous woman kicked her foot into Kagome's knee. The woman quickly pulled away and slid back onto her feet.

She was dressed very similarly to how Kouga had been, but the furs surrounding her legs, shoulders, and hips were a pale white. She had messy red hair pulled up into high pigtails and long bangs slightly brushing over her eyes. Her green eyes were bright and piercing as she glared at Kagome, never smiling. If Kagome had just seen her on the street, despite her odd dress that was clearly the culture of these wolf people, she would've called her stunning.

"What do you want?"

The woman, again, would not smile. "I am here to stop you from continuing on, ungrateful human."

Kagome frowned, "Ungrateful human? You know nothing of me!"

"The red head tilted her head, seemingly in thought. "I know you wished away someone, and your wish was granted, and now you want to undo it, correct?"

Kagome's forehead wrinkled in frustration, "You don't understand anything! And I never wished for my brother to be kidnapped!"

The woman finally grinned, "Well, it's honestly no matter to me. I don't know your story, and I do not care. I am here because my lover has tasked you to fight me. Hand to hand combat, and only if you can surpass me do you get to continue on. Are we done chatting now?"

The energy around the young miko cracked again, "If that's your job, then let's do this! I'm not going to waste anymore time here with you," and she formed a stance with her body the best way she knew.

The wolf woman tossed her head back and laughed. "Very well. By the way, my name is Ayame. I want you to remember that when I'm kicking your ass."

Kagome no longer gave a shit what her name was, all she wanted was Souta, and she had been poised on defense since the woman tried to kick her legs out.

When Ayame lurched forward, Kagome quickly ducked her head down and shot her purple coated palm out towards the wolf's stomach. The red head grunted and dodged the blow, immediately dipping down to grab Kagome by the throat and chunk her against the wall. It was as if the miko's whole body was light as a feather, and she hit the cave wall so hard it took her breath away.

"Stupid, cocky human. You think because you have a little bit of miko ability it gives you a hand up? I am a demon, you fool."

She walked up to where the black headed girl was curled, and jerked her up by her arm. The pop in Kagome's shoulder sent searing pain all down her back and arm, and when her hand tingled, she had had enough.

Ayame was saying something about how weak human women were taught to be when Kagome slung her other arm around as hard as she could, her fists balled and every bit of miko energy she could summon in them. The red head jerked her head at the last second and the blow landed at the corner of her jaw, but it was enough. There was a crunching sound and it was her turn to fly across the room. She landed on her feet, but could barely raise her head. Her jaw was no doubt broken, and there was a deep burn mark that went from her jawline down to the middle of her neck.

"You, BITCH!" And she flew at Kagome again. This time, Kagome was expecting the kick that was being aimed at her and grabbed the other woman's foot and twisted as hard as she could. Ayame went falling to the floor, unable to catch herself this time.

Kagome was out of breath, stressed out, exhausted, and in extreme pain. There were undoubtedly marks on her own neck, her shoulder was popped out of socket, and she had probably broken at least two knuckles. She was completely done with this 'challenge' and she was moving on, no matter who got in her way.

She started again towards the light, and when she was about twenty feet from it, she heard, "That was pretty impressive. My demon blood will have me healed by tomorrow, but you deserve to pass through."

Kagome didn't even look back. "I don't need your approval to take what I very clearly won. Thank you, though."

'But your 'lover' will be hearing from me.'

And she stumbled into the light.

* * *

The light that she had gone through all of that trouble to get to was a bunch of shit.

It was another tunnel, about four times wider than the previous ones, with torches lining the walls completely, less than six inches apart from one another. She traded her torch for one of the newly discovered ones, and slid down the wall of the cave. '...but if you need some company, just call my name.' She was slowly coming down from her first major fight, and her fury was returning.

"KOUGAAA!"

The air cracked around her, and suddenly there was that massive aura again. The wolf prince appeared, grinning at first, and then frowning when he saw her.

"You miss me, doll? Shit, Ayame got carried away.

Kagome was fuming and hysterical. "Carried away?! Carried away! Really! You feel that is an accurate description! Do not call me doll! I am just here to get my brother back, and you send your fucking girlfriend to try to kill me! I want to get my brother! I want to call the police and have you put in prison! And I want to go home!"

Kouga kneeled in front of her just as her tears started falling. "Girlfriend? What? Kagome, she was only supposed to test your skill in combat, that's all. No major damage done. You must have gotten under her skin."

Her head shot up, "I was just WALKING! I did nothing to her you stupid piece of -," she was cut off when she attempted to slap him and the pain of trying to lift her arm sent white into her eyes. She slouched back completely to the wall and tried to breathe.

"Kagome? Kagome! What's wrong!"

"She pulled my shoulder out of place. I rested here to pop it back in. Hurts." It was said through gritted teeth, and Kami, it really, really hurt. Kouga looked upset and then he got an expression that reminded Kagome of when nurses broke the news she would be getting a shot for today's visit. "Kagome, we can make this easier for you. I can pop it back into place, and you focus as much of your power as you can into healing that area."

The thought sent her sobbing. "I'm so tired. Hurts."

"I know, but you've got to get it right or it's going to get worse."

She nodded tightly, and took deep breaths in, "Okay."

Kouga positioned his hands on each side of her shoulder, "When I say three."

"One,"  
"...two,"  
"Kagome inhaled as hard a she could,"..three."

She focused her energy as much as she could to her shoulder, but the sickening pop was not contained in its brutality. Her mouth opened in a soundless scream and she felt forward, her vision covered in black spots. "It's okay, you're okay. Breathe, Kagome." She did as she was told, and only tried to sit up straight when Kouga's pelt looked less like leopard fur.

Amazingly, the pain was completely gone. Her miko energy may not have stopped the initial pain, but it completely healed where the pain should have been, and all that was left was a feeling of tightness, like she had slept wrong on it. The rotated it, exercising the joints, and everything moved the way it was supposed to. No hurt.

The wolf prince was looking at her, grinning. "I told you," he got serious again, "seriously Kagome, I promise that was not planned. You're much closer than you were before, and I will be talking to her. I'm truly sorry for Ayame."

"Whatever Kouga. I don't care about your apologies, I just want to get to Souta. If my next 'task' is anything like that one, I will just purify whoever I run into and not give a shit. I'm done, I want my brother."

He nodded in a somber understanding. "I understand. It truly wasn't my intention. Nothing else is even close to that." He paused, "Why did you say girlfriend?"

Kagome stood and brushed her clothes off, testing her shoulder again. It really was pain free. Huh, good knowledge for the future. She grabbed her torch again, "She said something like her lover set her with the task of fighting me. I don't know, I assumed it was you, Mr. Prince."

He grinned at her snarky tone and easily kept her pace when she started walking again. "Well I am the alpha male, and I am the one giving orders. But I can assure you that I did not set her with the task of dislocating your shoulder, and choking you." He brushed his hand across her neck. 'Damn. I knew there was going to be a mark.'

"And Kagome? I can _assure_ you that she is not my lover nor who I would _desire_ it to be."

The way that he said this made Kagome flush red in embarrassment and anger. "Who cares if she is? Thanks for the help Kouga. Try not to make me kill any of your wolfy friends."

She waved her hand in clear dismissal and walked a bit faster.

He laughed heartily. "Thanks for giving me the company, see you later, doll."

"I said DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

She sighed as the prince disappeared once more. 'This is insane. I am insane. This can't really be happening.'

She looked down the path that she was walking, and saw again a sort of intersection. She jerked her chin up in defiant determination.

'I'm coming, Souta.'


End file.
